As Paul the apostle
continued his letter to the church in Philippi, he encouraged them to
live in such a manner that others would see the gospel of Jesus
Christ in them. However, he knew if they did, they would encounter
those who would persecute them because of it. In chapter one and
verse twenty-nine, Paul shares two attributes that are “given”
when a person becomes a Christian. We read:
For unto you it is
given in the behalf of Christ, not only to believe on him, but also
to suffer for his sake;
The
verse begins, “For unto you it is given in the behalf of
Christ,not only to believe on him,...” As a continuation of
proof that “adversaries” would come against the church
members in Philippi, Paul employs the word “For” which
means “because of, in as a result of, or since” to begin his next
statement. His words are direct and instructional as he told the
Philippians “it is given” or “granted, pardoned, freely
given or bestowed” “in the behalf of Christ” which means
“because of Christ, for the sake of or on account of” that they
have the gift “...to believe on him” which infers the
ability to trust Jesus Christ's provision and salvation. Without
Jesus Christ's gift “to believe”, the Philippians would
have never trusted in Him at all.
The
verse goes on to say, “...but also to suffer for his
sake;” In addition to
believing in Jesus Christ, Paul goes on to add that the Christians in
Philippi would “suffer”
which means “to be affected or have been affected, to feel,
have a sensible experience, to undergo a bad plight” “for his
sake”. Let us note that they would not necessarily “suffer”
for their own sake, but “for his sake”. Paul desired to
let the Philippian church know that suffering was as much a part of
the gospel as was believing it. It's as if they go hand in hand.
When we think of “suffering”
for Christ's sake, it is natural that we desire to resist. Suffering
is unpleasant, and those who “suffer” more than likely
would rather not. When we think about Paul's words, perhaps we get
excited to know that Jesus Christ gave us the ability to believe in
Him, however, when we add suffering to His gifts, we may not be as
pleased. It may help us to remember Jesus' words which were recorded
in the gospel of Matthew in chapter five and verses ten through
twelve:
Blessed
are they which are persecuted for
righteousness' sake: for theirs is the kingdom of heaven. Blessed are
you, when men shall revile you, and persecute
you, and shall say all manner of evil against
you falsely, for my sake. Rejoice, and be exceeding glad: for great
is your reward in heaven: for so persecuted
they the prophets which were before you.
May the
Lord add His words to our lives so that when we “suffer for his
sake” others may come to know Him as Savior and Lord.
Next
time Paul tells the Philippians how they will identify with him if
they suffer, so read ahead, and we shall join together then.
Until
tomorrow...there is more...
Look
for the daily devotional book “Equipped for Battle – From
Generation to Generation”, the marriage book “So, You Want to Be
Married”, and the new devotional “One Year in the Sermon on the
Mount” in all major bookstore sites, www.amazon.com ;
www.barnesandnobles.com ; download to e-books, and find it locally at
www.mrzlc.com/bookstore
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